In the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs) and other electronic devices, testing with automatic test equipment (ATE) is performed at one or more stages of the overall process. IC testing systems typically include a test head and a probe card. Packaged part testing systems typically include a test head and a device under test (DUT) board. The probe card or DUT board includes a pattern of contacts for electrically probing or connecting to portions of an integrated circuit. The test head is configured to drive various contacts of the probe card or DUT board to carry out particular test procedures within the IC. In the course of a test procedure, the test head receives output signals from the IC via the contacts of the probe card or DUT board. The output signals are indicative of electrical characteristics of the IC under test. The probe card or DUT board and the test head are uniquely configured for a particular IC and, in some cases, a particular test procedure. Accordingly, the probe card or DUT board and/or the test head must be changed for different ICs and test procedures.
The test head is electrically coupled to the probe card or DUT board with an interface apparatus. The interface apparatus may be, for example, a zero insertion force socket or a “pogo” unit. A pogo unit engages the test head, or some intermediate coupling structure associated with the test head, and the probe card or DUT board. The pogo unit includes an array of spring-loaded contact pins referred to as Pogo Pins®. The spring pins act as signal and ground conductors, and are arranged to electrically couple contacts on the probe card or DUT board to corresponding contacts on the test head. The spring force of the spring pins helps to maintain uniformity of electrical contact between the various contacts of the probe card or DUT board and the test head. When the test head and probe card or DUT board are engaged with the pogo unit exerting pressure against the spring pins, the spring pins respond with a spring force that enhances coupling pressure. The resilience of the pins generally ensures adequate coupling pressure despite planar deformation of the test head or the probe card or DUT board during a test procedure.
In many applications, the conductors are required to carry signals having very high frequency components, from 100's of MHz to 10 GHz in the near future and to 10's of GHz in the more distant future. Accordingly, the transmission line characteristic impedance of the signal path between the probe card or DUT board and the test head is of prime interest. For optimal signal transfer between the test electronics and the device being tested, the characteristic impedance of all elements in the signal path should be closely matched. Usually, it is desired that all signal paths have the same impedance, for example 28, 50, or 75 Ohms, though it may be required that several different values of characteristic impedance be provided in the same interface.
ATE interface signal modules typically employ dielectric materials to structurally support electrical transmission lines. These dielectric materials provide an electrically insulating boundary between adjacent transmission line elements, but also cause discontinuities in the characteristic impedance along the path of the transmission line. Discontinuities in characteristic impedance along a transmission line can cause undesirable effects that include increased reflection coefficients levels, consequent decreased transmission coefficient levels, both of which are frequency dependent, that causes unleveled channel performance detrimental to the signal integrity of the signal module and its ability to perform ATE signal characterization. In many applications it is thus desirable to remove the reflections of electromagnetic fields as they propagate through the impedance discontinuities caused by the differing dielectric constants.